George Santayana had irrational faith in reason - I have irrational faith in TV.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Lyrics to Paul Levinson's Twice Upon a Rhyme, 1972

I'm delighted to announce that, in a few weeks, Big Pink Music in South Korea will be issuing a special new CD of my 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme. I just sent the lyrics and liner notes to Big Pink - and I thought I would post the lyrics here, as well (they are below the album covers), for all 13 songs on the album. (The Korean release will also have two new bonus tracks.) More details about the album, including samples of many of the songs, over here.

The dusk is a soft silken drape
That falls on the lyrical landscape
Set to a love sonnet’s beat

(chorus)

(bridge)
See the night
There’s light all around
I see the night
It’s bright on the ground
While in the sky
The pastel play, the breeze ballet
Is breathtaking, I’m shaking

(chorus)

I’M SEEING YOU IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT
Words & Music by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox
January 1969

The first time that I saw you girl
I didn’t blink an eye
Seen so much more before you
Just as common as the sky
But now a sun is rising
As I look at you tonight
I’m seeing you in a different light

I’m not sure what’s occurring
But it all fits into place
‘Cause something warm is stirring
As I gaze into your face
It’s life that’s advertising
And the signs are big and bright
I’m seeing you in a different light

I’m seeing you in a different light . . .

The blush of Aphrodite
Is alive upon your cheek
I’ve seen the light despite me
What a fool I was last week!
But now I’m realizing girl
It’s love at second sight
I’m seeing you in a different light

LEARN TO LEARN
Words & Music by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox
February 1969

The Friday sidewalks sure look crowded
Crowds rushing home with Sunday eyes
And me, I walk among the clouded
Into a night of starless skies

I’ve got to learn to learn
Not to hide my face from the sun
Now the truth is dawning
I’ve been one with no one

Lost in the wilds of misconception
Mistaking love’s embrace for chains
I feel the depths of my deception
My world is cardboard when it rains

I’ve got to learn to learn
That away is the worst way to run
In the glow of morning
When the day is so young

I’ve got to learn to learn
That a love song is meant to be sung
In the warmth of morning
When the world is so young

(chorus)
Relics of summer psychedelics
An ever-dwindling splinter
Browse around while the world dies down
Witness the coming of winter

Few flowers to smell
Pretty face already shed
Few hours to tell
Many things that might be said

(chorus)

(bridge)
But don’t let your mind stray too far
It might get hung up on a faded buttercup
Or tuned down to the muted sound
Of half-forgotten seas
And the soft as cotton breeze

NOT YET READY TO SAY GOODBYE
Words by Paul Levinson
Music by Linda Kaplan & Paul Levinson
October 1968

Things been getting’ worse, lately
Been lovin’ in reverse, lately
Almost time to say we’ve had our fill
Seems from here the road is all downhill
Don’t you believe it girl, we’ve something still

(chorus)
Hey, we’re not yet ready to say goodbye
“Sure gonna miss you” just won’t get by
Goodbye don’t make it
We can’t forsake it
We’re not yet ready to say goodbye

Life’s been down on us, lately
Been causin’ quite a fuss, lately
Breakin’ up would be the simple cure
But the treatment would be mighty poor
Long empty evenings never feelin’ quite sure

(chorus)

(bridge)
Can’t say so long – it’s been so long
Can’t say that’s all – ‘cause that’s all wrong

(chorus)

THE LAMA WILL BE LATE THIS YEAR
Words & Music by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox
November 1968

(a brief question and answer period)

Children don’t you know it’s past your bedtime
You’ve been waiting all day for the sun
Didn’t come so now it’s eyes-are-red time
He’s been holding out on everyone

People all been cold for such a long time
Never seen the likes of this before
He would always come and bring the warm time
Maybe he don’t love us anymore

(chorus)
The lama will be late this year
The lama will be late this year
I fear he’s been delayed
Heaven knows where he’s strayed
We’re gonna have to wait this year
The lama will be late this year
The lama will be late this year
I fear we’ve been repaid
The mistakes we have made
We’re gonna have to wait this year

It’s time all right and yet it’s not the right time
Maybe there’s some thing we’ve gotta learn
We’ll just keep on spinning through the nighttime
‘Till we light the way for his return

About Me

Paul Levinson, PhD, is Professor of Communication &
Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City.His 8 nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997),
Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003), Cellphone (2004), and New New Media (2009, 2nd edition 2012), have been the
subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science
Monitor, and have been translated into 12 languages. His science fiction novels include The Silk Code (1999, ebook 2012), Borrowed Tides (2001), TheConsciousness Plague (2002, 2013), The Pixel Eye (2003), The Plot To SaveSocrates (2006, ebook 2012), and Unburning Alexandria (2013).His short stories
have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards.Paul Levinson appears on "The
O'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News,"“NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS),“Nightline” (ABC), NPR, and numerous
national and international TV and radio programs. His 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was re-issued in 2009 (CD) and 2010 (remastered vinyl). He reviews the best of
television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog, and was listed in The Chronicle of
Higher Education’s “Top 10 Academic Twitterers” in 2009.

e-mail received from a reader:Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy of The Plot to Save Socrates for seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren's fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchidren. Thanks! Tom